EAST MIDDLEBURY — Eight parents worked all day Saturday to bring an East Middlebury baseball field back to life. They worked about 14 hours, but they were not alone. A lot of the children they were restoring the field for also helped out.
The field, located on Daisy Lane off Lower Plains Road, is now pretty much ready for use, according to Toby Rheaume, one of the fathers who worked on the field.
Rheaume and another father, Jason Larocque, came up with the idea to restore the East Middlebury field at a Memorial Day barbecue towards the end of Little League season.
“We thought it would be nice to keep the kids stimulated and playing baseball,” said Rheaume. “So I spoke to some people in East Middlebury, and we thought it would be nice to rejuvenate the field for the community.”
The field is on property owned by Jack Brown, who was happy to support the project.
“I’m very glad that the field is now useable,” said Brown. “My intention is that anyone can use it.”
In fact, Brown explained that he plans on donating the field to either the town of East Middlebury or to the fire department soon. He gave the Middlebury Recreation Department permission to use the field over 25 years ago.
Volunteers brought in all kinds of sand and dirt and backhoes and other big machines to take care of the upgrade. All the time and equipment that went into restoring the field were donated, according to Rheaume.
Donations came from J. P. Carrara and Sons, Quarry Road Farm, DeBisschop Equipment, Ploof Excavating, Taylor Rentals, Mark Trudeau General Carpentry, Canopy Timber Alternatives and Moe Rheaume.
Toby Rheaume lives in East Middlebury and has two children, ages five and eight, who plan on using the field.
“It was a group effort,” Rheaume said. “Compared with where the field was, it turned out really nice.”
Reporter George Altshuler is at [email protected].